Corn fest: 7 cobs in 3 minutes nets man $50

SHIPPENSBURG - Despite the hot weather, which reportedly hit the 90s, crowds of people came out to Shippensburg's Annual Corn Festival.
"I'm happy with the turn out so far," said festival president Ortrun Gates. "Whenever it falls on a Labor Day weekend, there is always some fear about attendance."

The festival, which is always held on the last Saturday in August, drew some nice crowds, she said.

One of the biggest events, the corn-eating contest, went to Grant Innerst, who is originally from Red Lion, but moved to Shippensburg for school.
He won the $50 grand prize by eating seven cobs in three minutes, which didn't break the all-time record of nine, but thought he didn't do too bad.
His secret, he said, is to keep an empty stomach before hand.

"I eat a very light breakfast the day of the festival," he said.

Corn items such as corn fritters, sweet corn, kettle corn and chicken corn soup were available, as well as non-corn based foods including burgers and sausage sandwiches.

234 craft vendors were registered to participate, according to Jane Minetola, craft vendor chair of the Corn Festival committee.

"The streets are filled with vendors," said Minetola. "We also have about 35 new vendors this year."

Gail Anders was in Shippensburg visiting her daughter, but had to stop by the festival to shop for some crafts, which included some items for her dog.
"The prices are reasonable here," Anders said. "It's a nice festival."

Anders said the festival reminds her of one that her town of Alexandria hosts.

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A group of freshmen from the cross country team at Shippensburg University were experiencing the festival for the first time.

Cheyenne Hess graduated from the university, but traveled about an hour, along with some other friends, to visit Natasha Seabra, a senior at SU, and to go to the annual festival.

"If you come to the festival, you have to buy corn," said SU alumnus Eric Ford. "It's the only way."

Sheree Bowers lives in Shippensburg and has been coming to the event for 13 years.

"I like shopping and see what new things are being made by the vendors," Bowers said. She brought her sons Dakota, 11, and Xavier, 1 1/2.

Evelyn Bastardi from Mechanicsburg, had just come from the food stands.

"It's a beautiful area," Bastardi said. "And the corn is fantastic. It's white corn; the real corn. I think of yellow corn as the corn used to feed animals."
The Corn Festival Committee, who put on the event every year, is a small group of volunteers who raise money for preservation and enhancement projects in the community, according to the website.

Past festivals have supported historic marker signs, downtown period lighting; the restoration and landscaping of the town gazebo, iron wreath Christmas decorations, trees and flowers for downtown, roof replacement of the oldest church in town and preservation of the historic Dykeman's Spring Hatch House.

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Lauren Cappuccio can be contacted at lcappuccio@publicopinionnews.com and 262-4754.

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